11:10 16.02.2016

Naftogaz says Gazprom's accusations of siphoning Russian gas groundless

2 min read
Naftogaz says Gazprom's accusations of siphoning Russian gas groundless

Accusations brought by Russia's OAO Gazprom claiming that NJSC Naftogaz Ukraine has allegedly siphoned Russian gas while it is being pumped via Ukraine are groundless, Naftogaz Director for Business Development Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

"These accusations are absolutely groundless. This is what we prove within the framework of the [Stockholm] arbitration," he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday evening.

Vitrenko said that Gazprom's accusations dated back to October 2015 and its claim is less than $6 million, which is a very little sum compared to the total sum of the claims filed by the two companies in Stockholm courts, which is measured in dozens of billions of dollars.

"And the fact that you've learnt this now and that nobody in Europe was and is concerned means that nobody in Europe believes what Gazprom says," Vitrenko said.

Naftogaz explained in its press release on Monday evening that Gazprom's claim concerns 5 million cubic meters of balance gas accumulated in four months of 2014 during the period when Naftogaz did not import Russian gas for Ukraine. The amount of gas transit shipments pumped by Ukraine to the European Union during the four months was 17.42 billion cubic meters. Thus, unsettled is 0.03% of the transit shipments.

Naftogaz also suggests that contracts should meter balance gas in keeping with European practice. This proposal was first put forth by Naftogaz in summer 2014, and is now being considered by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

As was reported, for the first time since the gas transit crises in 2006 and 2009, Gazprom has accused Naftogaz of "unsanctioned losses" of Russian gas being shipped on pipelines through Ukraine.

Gazprom filed the counterclaim in Stockholm in the context of the "transit lawsuit" brought by the Ukrainian side.

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